After 21 seasons in the NBA, basketball superstar Dirk Nowitzki has announced his retirement from the game. There will never be another like him, writes DW's Andreas Sten-Ziemons.
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Gutierrez
When has this ever happened before? An athlete revolutionizes his sport, becomes one of the game's greats, and inspires other players in the world's best league to copy his style. He does all this while keeping his feet firmly on the ground. He doesn't change at all as a person, but remains just as humble and grounded as ever. Dirk Nowitzki has stayed that way right up to the very end of his unparalleled NBA career.
When then-Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson and his son and assistant Donnie Nelson first laid eyes on Dirk Nowitzki, they immediately recognized his potential. A seven-foot mountain of a man, who could shoot from distance. A giant, the kind of guy who in that era in the NBA would usually have been parked beneath the opposing basket – but who had the mobility and pace to attack from the outside – something that the league had never seen before. Nowadays every big player has to be able to shoot the three if he is to stand any chance of making the cut on any of the league's elite teams.
DW's Andreas Sten-Ziemons
Nowitzki's career stats speak for themselves; more than 31,000 points, 11,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists, as well as more than 1,000 blocks and steals. Even the game's other truly great players couldn't match his versatility on the court. Nowitzki is sixth on the all-time list of NBA scorers and the best European ever to have played in the league.
However, the number that says the most about his character is the number 21. Nowitzki played 21 seasons for the Mavericks. Hardly any other player has played that many seasons in the league – and Nowitzki did so with just one franchise.
While other NBA superstars seem to spend much of their time working on their public image and individual records, showing off bling, and filling their social media channels with banalities, Nowitzki has remained completely unpretentious. It was touching to see the joy on his face when he found out that the basketball heroes of his youth – the guys whose posters hung over his bed as a teenager – had turned up for his farewell. Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf all turned up to pay homage to an even bigger NBA legend than themselves.
"It's kind of surreal that people want my autograph and photos of me, just because I'm pretty good at putting the ball in the basket," Nowitzki says at the end of The Perfect Shot, the 2014 documentary about his career.
Nowitzki means this just the way he says it, and this sentence is a perfect reflection of the German's mindset.
The Würzburg-native won a lot of awards in his career. The most significant being named the league MVP in 2007 and the NBA championship with the Mavs four years later – when he was named the MVP of the final playoff series. For his modesty, the way he carries himself as a role model, his level headedness and loyalty, Dirk Nowitzki actually deserves to win many more awards.
Dirk Nowitzki: One last swish
Dirk Nowitzki's NBA career is about to draw to a close after he announced his retirement at the age of 40. We look back at the career of Germany's greatest-ever basketball player.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Gebert
It's over
In the final home game of his career, Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 30 points as his Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 120-109. After the game, the German announced that he would retire following their season finale in San Antonio. He was joined at a post-game ceremony by NBA legends Larry Bird (right) and Scottie Pippen (left).
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Gutierrez
Another milestone
Although he saw limited playing time in his last season in the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki did manage to reach another milestone. Against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 7, 2019, Nowitzki gathered in his 10,000th defensive rebound. He is just the fifth NBA player to reach the 10,000-rebound mark.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/B. Dill
30,000-point man
Two years earlier on March 7, 2017, Dirk Nowitzki reached another impressive milestone, scoring his 30,000th point in a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers. No. 41 finished his career with 31,560 points, making him the sixth-best scorer in NBA history.
Image: Getty Images/R. Martinez
Discovered in the German second division
The Dallas Mavericks and the NBA are a long way from where it all started. He was born in Würzburg, Bavaria on June 19, 1978. He didn't pick up a basketball until he was 13, but it was clear from the start that he had talent. While he was playing with Würzburg in Germany's second division the then 19-year-old first drew the attention of several NBA scouts.
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The German wunderkind
The Milwaukee Bucks made Dirk Nowitzki the ninth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft. Milwaukee then immediately traded Nowitzki to the Dallas Mavericks, meaning he never actually wore a Bucks jersey. Nowitzki got off to a slow start with the Mavs in his first season, which was shortened by a lockout. However, it wouldn't be long before Milwaukee's management would regret their mistake.
Image: AP
Fadeaway specialist
Nowitzki's trademark was his fadeaway jump shot. It may not be as spectacular as a dunk, which he's also more than capable of producing, but it is just as effective. The NBA's best defenders often commented about how hard it was to defend Dirk when he was in rhythm. He can do it all, it seems.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/AP/A. Kudacki
German flagbearer
Nowitzki had the honor of being Germany's flagbearer at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. However, Germany's basketball team failed to make it to the knockout phase. Nowitzki did win the bronze medal with Germany at the 2002 World Basketball Championship as well as silver at the 2005 edition of the tournament.
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Mentor, personal trainer, advisor, friend
Holger Geschwindner was an elite basketball player who represented Germany at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich. However, he is far better known as the man who discovered Nowitzki. In 1995 he convinced Nowitzki to dedicate himself exclusively to basketball. Even now, Nowitzki sometimes has Geschwindner fly over to the US, where he is still the NBA star's personal trainer and mentor.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Dedert
A title for the ages
Dirk Nowitzki and his Dallas Mavericks won the 2011 NBA championship. The German helped make the title possible through more than just his play on the court — he agreed to accept a contract that paid him below market value in order to allow the team to bring in other big-name stars. Dallas won the NBA final series 4 games to 2 over LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
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A German global star
Nowitzki thus became the first-ever German to win an NBA title, putting him in the same conversation as former German greats Max Schmeling, Franz Beckenbauer or Michael Schumacher. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of those NBA playoffs, four seasons after he had become the first European to be named the NBA's MVP. At home, he was named the 2011 German Sports Personality of the Year.
Image: AP
Accessible to the fans and media
Despite all of this success, Nowitzki has always kept his feet planted firmly on the ground. He makes himself available for interviews whenever he can and he takes time to sign autographs for the fans a much as he can. However, the father of three children tends to keep his family life to himself.
Image: Reuters/USA Today Sports/EFE/J. Mendez
Away from the court
Nowitzki is the curator of a foundation committed to the promotion of youth welfare, as well as the education and training of socially disadvantaged people. Involved in a number of other projects, the German has earned himself a reputation as player whose influence reaches beyond the basketball court. Here he is talking about Basketball Without Borders at a press conference in South Africa.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/AP/T. Hadebe
Time on the sidelines
Injuries were a recurring problem in the later stages of Nowitzki’s career. His 31,560 points put him in sixth place on the NBA's all-time scorers' list, ahead of the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal.
